Young clubber takes drugs to relax

Read the rest of his story below and find out what an expert thinks the effect his lifestyle could have on him.

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Tuesday is the worst day because the drugs will have completely worn off and I feel absolutely awful. The thing that concerns me most is that my kidneys really hurt.

And if I've done lots of cocaine, I'll have a nose-bleed for a couple of days, as well. Quite often I'll also have a cough that will last for about three days.

I'm sure it's having all sorts of long-term effects on my body. For example, I do get ill occasionally, which I blame on the drugs. I got measles a couple of years ago.

I wouldn't be surprised if my immune system is not very strong. I can go for two days without eating when I'm on a binge, and that definitely isn't healthy.

Also, you lose focus on the rest of your life because you're quite tired much of the time. If I get down, then it's probably the drugs, although I tend not to think about that. My body is probably going to crack at some point.

But at the moment, it's worth it. You tend to reject the risks. I think it helps if you've got a strong selfdestructive streak. You tend to have this attitude that you don't really care what happens.

It's like you're pushing some sort of frontier. You know about the consequences but you don't talk about them. It would be like being at a drinking party and going around telling everyone what damage you're risking if you drink. You just don't do it.

There have been times when I've been dancing away and sweating and my heart is beating fast and my blood pressure must be terribly high, and I've felt that this is bordering on the dangerous.

I can feel my heart going into palpitations a bit. But at the time, you're so 'up' that you don't care. It's a detached kind of worry. You think, 'maybe I've taken too much', but it doesn't really matter.

I don't think there's anything in my background that makes me take drugs. My childhood was very happy. My dad is a community artist in Bristol and my mum is now a teacher in Spain. I went to private school and university, enjoy my job and I earn good money.

I have a girlfriend, Vicky, and although we don't live together we are pretty solid. I've just moved out of a shared flat in Camden and am living by myself in Plaistow, which is a bit of move to get away from the drugs.

The trouble is that once I start, it's hard to say no. That's why it's important for me to control the environment in which I take drugs, ensure that I am using with people I know and that I don't spend more than £200 a night on drugs. I know that one day soon I'll stop doing so much, but it's hard to stop when you're having so much fun.

A doctors view

Fabrizio Schifano is a consultant psychiatrist at St George's Hospital in south-west London and senior lecturer in the department of addictive behaviour at the hospital's medical school. He says:

"Anyone who takes up to six different drugs in one night is playing Russian roulette with their lives.

"Sociologically, we do not know why these young people feel the need to take so many different drugs at once, and, medically speaking, even a pharmacologist doesn't know the effect that it will have on your body.

"Our research shows that taking just two drugs increases the effects of both substances on your system.

"These young people are experimenting on their own bodies. It is uncharted territory and it is very, very worrying."